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Regional Reviews: Boston Out of Sterno
Laufer's conceit is full of fancy and whimsy, but it takes the incredible range of Amanda Collins to thoroughly convey all the sides of Dotty, a naïve young woman who lives in the town of Sterno with her husband Hamel (Noah Tuleja). Her world revolves around him and their apartment which she has not left in seven years because he has forbidden it. When Hamel goes off to his job at a service station, Dotty entertains herself with art projects and preparing happy meals for him. At night, he changes from his oily work clothes into shiny, colorful shirts and tight pants before going out to "business dinners." She innocently believes him and thinks he's ambitious, until one night when she takes a phone call for Hamel from an angry woman. Dotty decides to venture out into the city to clear up the mystery, and embarks on a life-altering path with an array of twists and turns that neither she nor the audience can foresee. The ride is more fun for us to watch than it is for Dotty to experience, but she maintains her positive, child-like outlook, trusting Hamel out of her deep love for him, rather than any rational empirical evidence. She has so much to process once she leaves her cloistered environment, and every new stimulus registers on Collins' expressive face in the form of delight, confusion, pain or resolve. Tuleja's magnetism makes Dotty's adoration understandable, despite his caveman mentality and lack of respect for her. Dotty is not the only one to fall under his spell, as Hamel also captivates the glamorous femme fatale Zena (Jennifer Ellis), owner of a local beauty salon who has seen her share of ex-husbands. As a result of mistaken identity, Dotty ends up being employed by Zena to paint nails and becomes her protégé, soaking up all she can about being a woman Zena-style. Ellis is a hoot as the confident, more sophisticated city mouse to Collins' country mouse. She wears lots of makeup, sports a beehive hairdo, and is virtually poured into her form-fitting capri pants and décolletage-revealing blouses. She balances atop five-inch spike heels, allowing her to showcase her svelte figure that attracts Hamel's wandering eye. Ellis seamlessly portrays Zena's tough exterior as business owner and world-weary divorcée, as well as her nurturing side that takes Dotty under her wing. The pair develop a relationship that is more quid pro quo than friendship, but not without genuine caring, and it is worth waiting for to see how they resolve the love triangle. Richard Snee is a delight to observe as he finds a way to distinguish each character among eight cameo roles (four men and four women), all offering some guidance or nugget of wisdom to Dotty when she encounters them, mostly on the bus or in the salon. It may be that the females are written with more depth, but Snee excels as the feminist Barb and the very pregnant Sally Mae, using facial expressions and his physicality to great effect. Snee and Collins share a connection that makes their conversations natural and authentic, leaving you with the hope that these characters will meet again and maintain a friendship. Plum's sure-handed direction and emphasis on each character's humanity makes it clear that she gets the message that Laufer is sending in Out of Sterno. Initially, Dotty is like a paper doll trying on different outfits and playing with a series of household props, but with very little substance to support her personality. Once she leaves the apartment (and her comfort zone) and encounters people whose lives are very different from her limited experience, she adopts one world view after another, absorbing what feels comfortable and discarding things that don't fit her. The design team creates a physical environment that illustrates each of the stops she makes along the way (Jon Savage, set; Russ Swift, lighting; Elisabetta Polito, costume; David Wilson, sound), as well as drawing a distinction between Dotty's fantasy world and harsh reality. Eventually, all of the images enable her to decide what it means to be a real woman, freeing her to become her own special creation. Out of Sterno, performances through July 18, 2015, at Gloucester Stage, 267 E. Main Street, Gloucester, MA; Box Office 978-281-4433 or www.gloucesterstage.com. Written by Deborah Zoe Laufer, Directed by Paula Plum; Set Design, Jon Savage; Costume Design, Elisabetta Polito; Lighting Design, Russ Swift; Sound Design, David Wilson; Stage Manager, Meg Tracy Leddy Cast (in alphabetical order): Amanda Collins, Jennifer Ellis, Richard Snee, Noah Tuleja
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